Elsa Capital is an AI-focused, thesis-driven venture capital firm.
We partner with founders building AI applications for financial and professional services, and the infrastructure enabling the AI economy.
Latest Thinking
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The Light We See in Vertical AI
What we look for in vertical AI startups in financial and professional services—and why we believe the application layer will endure.
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Beyond Growth: What Matters for Value Creation in AI?
What Cursor’s $60B acquisition tells us about growth, margins, and value creation in AI.
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Why Vertical AI in Financial & Professional Services Will Create $1 Tn Enterprise Value
Elsa Capital’s founding thesis—and our belief in a future of both profit and purpose.
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Occasional essays on AI, investing, and company-building.
Sarah Fu
Founder & Managing Partner
Sarah has been an investor, operator, and founder across finance and technology for the past 15 years.
Before launching Elsa Capital, Sarah was a product and business leader at Stripe, helping the company scale from $5B to $100B valuation. She helped build Stripe's flagship product (Stripe Connect) and advised executives on strategy and finance. She has also founded a YC-backed fintech company.
Before moving into tech, Sarah was an investor at Fidelity, where she oversaw $8B in investments across financial and business services, and was among the youngest to be promoted to portfolio manager. She developed her love for technology companies at Morgan Stanley, where she helped take Alibaba public in the largest U.S. IPO at the time.
Sarah holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business, and dual degrees B.S. in Bioengineering and Finance, summa cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania. She is also a CFA charterholder.
Sarah lives in San Francisco with her husband and two young daughters.
Learn more on Sarah’s personal website and LinkedIn.
Portfolio
AI for risk analytics
AI-native CPQ
AI for public market investors
AI for accounting
AI for CRE underwriting
AI for compliance
AI for deal sourcing
Version control for spreadsheets
AI for legal transactions
Why “Elsa”
Elsa Capital is founded on the belief that every person has a distinctive superpower—their own form of magic.
For founders, building an enduring company requires recognizing that strength, fully embracing it, and having the courage to create a better future others may not yet see.
The name was inspired by Sarah’s older daughter, who chose Elsa as the first sticker on Sarah’s laptop—and wholeheartedly believed that she, too, had Elsa’s magic.
